Boys lax squad drops four

Boys lacrosse

By: John E. Powers
   After starting the season with three straight wins, the Hopewell Valley Central High School boys lacrosse team has hit a rough patch.
   After beating Old Bridge, Pennington and Montgomery, the Bulldogs have lost four straight. The Bulldogs lost to Princeton Day, Princeton, Manasquan and West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the last week.
   The 3-4 Bulldogs were beaten by West Windsor-Plainsboro South 16-2 on Tuesday. The Pirates’ Mike Malec scored six goals, while teammate Rob Morris had four. Peter Carroll had both goals for the Bulldogs.
   "We’re getting to our tougher part of the schedule," said Bulldogs coach Rob Donovan. "I think it was a combination of things. I think the kids were a little fatigued, we had some kids away on a class trip and we played some good teams."
   West Windsor-Plainsboro South is 7-2. Princeton is 8-1. The Bulldogs lost to Princeton on Thursday 14-4. Bennett Murphy led the Little Tigers with a goal and five assists and the winners outshot the Bulldogs 48-17. Sophomore Tyler Brewster and junior Scott Kuppe had two goals apiece for Hopewell Valley.
   "Princeton is that good and West Windsor-Plainsboro South is very good," Donavan said. "The Manasquan game was a winnable one. I just think it was a case of being tired from playing so many games so close together.
   "We had to travel down there, too, and I think that might have had something to do with it."
   Four games in five days to be exact. The Bulldogs played Thursday, Saturday Monday and Tuesday. They lost to Princeton Day 15-8 Saturday on a misty and rainy day.
   "We’re a young team, and we’re going to make mental mistakes and then you consider that we had a tired team," Donovan said. "You compound your inexperience. It’s hard to recover from it during a game."
   The real disappointment was the 10-4 loss to 2-7 Manasquan on Monday.
   "That was a winnable game," Donovan said.
   Donovan said that he and assistant coach Jerry Middlemiss are satisfied with the team’s position and believe the Bulldogs’ pursuit of a winning season is still on track.
   "Hey, you try to deal with these parts of the season," Donovan said. "We’re very positive, and we’ve been telling the kids to keep their focus and to be positive."
   Hopewell Valley does get something of a break from its hectic season. The Bulldogs will play at St. Joseph of Metuchen on Friday, then play host to East Brunswick next Monday.
   "We’re going to the give kids off (Wednesday), and we’re looking to come back strong for practice Thursday and get ready for Friday," Donovan said. "We’re still at a point in a season where we can finish with a winning season. We have to stick together and believe in our system."
   Last year, the team was also 3-4 after seven games. The Bulldogs won their eighth game, beating Princeton Day 13-8. But Hopewell Valley then lost its next six games before winning its last game of the season to finish 5-10.
   "We believe we’re better than that," Donovan said.